Last Day of Vacation

I can't believe vacation is almost over! It went by very fast. Today was sort of a rain-out type day. The rain was very heavy all last night, and continued throughout the day. We took a drive inland again, this time towards the northwest. We went for lunch at a home-cooking restaurant called Cole's Farm. Lunch was very good....meatloaf sandwich and fish chowder for Ed, and I had the hot meatloaf with mashed and gravy. The waitress forgot my salad, and given the fact that Cole's Farm makes and sells their salad dressings, I did insist that she bring me the salad with my entree. We ended up buying a bottle of the dressing, a blackberry jam and Flo's hotdog relish.

We continued on to Freeport, and made a very hurried stop at LL Bean, but at least I can say I was there at the "mother store". I was looking for summer flipflops, but saw nothing I wanted. We then continued on the Rt. 1 path, and here we sit...on the last night of vacation. *sad face*

I'm Bugged About Something

It's me again. The guest blogger is doing a great job, isn't he? It's 7:15 am, and I might go back to bed, but right now I'm just enjoying the quiet of an early morning on the marsh? Bog? I guess its' technical name is estuary. It fills up from the ocean with the tides. One thing we didn't know before we got here was how bad the mosquito problem was going to be. Both Ed and I have got bites from head to toe. They itch something awful, which is only made worse by scratching them, but I have to scratch!

I have no idea what today has in store. We don't have any real plans, and it looks like there is going to be some rain today. I leave you with a picture of a chipmunk that showed up on the deck yesterday morning.

South Coast 3: The Boat Trip Edition

No summer in Maine would be complete unless we take a boat trip. And this summer, the trip was the lighthouse tour from Dock Wharf in Portland, Me. This guest blogger has always liked Portland.....I worked there for 3 years, saw the start of the changes to the waterfront in 1977. Boy, what a change! JoAnn calls Portland the "Seattle of the East". And I would agree.

Now on to the picture to your left. Ducks on an island during the boat ride. Why is it important? Here's the story. While waiting in line to board our ship, there were a bunch of seniors in walkers, a wheelchair and helpers trying to get them on the ship. An employee of the line apologized later for "the inordinate number of wheelchairs" for this trip. Hey, just let us on the ship. Anyway, it looked like these ducks on the rocks. Slow getting on, and last getting off. Lined up with no where to go.

Well we were near the tail end of the embarking people. However, the blog owner came through. As we were walking forward, she noticed some chairs under the staircase to the upper deck. We immediately took them. Easy to exit from, interesting because the only people next to us was a couple from Germany, and a GREAT post to take pix (which when we got home, the blogger-owner said "96 photos": hey, I thought we were on vacation. Trip was great: sun and wind and just a good time. After the end, we walked up to Commercial Street; JoAnn took a seat on a bench, and I got the car from the garage.

Oh, yea. On the trip, we had a gentlemen discuss the ducks on the rocks. He stated that they were amazing. Thinking about sitting up there, etc. And then, while waiting for me, he walked by JoAnn on Commercial Street and greeted her again. I guess the ducks are an omen. Of what I don't know. But this I do know, no boat trip in Maine has ever been without something interesting to remember. And, the South Coast is no different.

As an aside, the spoiled chocolate lab, Amber, is also on vacation. Noticed that she slept on the couch while we were gone, and on the rug, sound alseep, when we got home. Maine.....time seems to be slower here.

South Coast 2: The Bob's Clam Hut Story

JoAnn had been to Bob's way back when. She even remembered the gravelly parking lot. And she has always commented about the soft-belly fried clams. Thus one of the missions today was to take in the best of Maine eats. It started with the blogger hinting that we should have breakfast/brunch/lunch at The Maine Diner (featured on the Food Network, etc.). Well, when we got there, she decided that we would have lunch because "I can get breakfast anywhere." Sure. After all, they have a neon clock that states "Breakfast Anytime". Thus she did what she always does: change her mind. The order was for the famous two's : 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausages, 2 blueberry pancakes, and, of course, 2 toasts. She gave me a pancake, so she could get some of my potatoes. Breakfast was alright...hehehe.

Thus, the day well in hand, we proceeded (after some driving around and visiting lighthouses, and the Strawberry Banke area of Portsmouth, NH, we ended up at Bob's Clam Hut. Lots of people for lunch at 2 PM in the afternoon. "Clam Roll....$13.95" said the handwritten board. Of course, she made a suggestion, "Let's get and split the fried clam platter." Great suggestion, we got more clams, and spend less cash. Ok, the clams. Sweet, batter is over-the-top, and what can you say, they are the best in the world according to some. Mission accomplished: 2 Maine attractions visited in one trip. And without getting lost: thanks to Noreen at the Garmin Station.

As an aside.....the blogger is on vacation this week. And I have been forced to sum up the day's activities.

Maine 2009: The South Coast Edition By The Guest Blogger

Saturday night, quarter to 9, sitting at a table, looking over the salt marsh at high tide, I am the "guest blogger" tonight. Our drive from Bethlehem, Pa to Kennebunkport, Me of 402 miles was uneventful. No real side trips. Navigation with Noreen is always a trip however: some suggestions are plain stupid or plain brilliant. I don't know which. Got to the place at 56 Dyke Road (after Noreen could not find it). Exactly as advertised when we leased it. Even though we have not been here a full 12 hours, I know we will love the location to explore southern Maine. Quite different than Martha Stewart Downeast, the Boothbay Harbor midcoast location. The week here is going to be different: not much rushing about. I did promise JoAnn that she could go to antique shops this week, probably down in Wells (Kennebunkport will not have those tourist traps on their streets, hehe). Well, Saturday night would not be complete without the 1st dinner in Maine. Lobster, of course. But the Maine steamers were over the top. I had had them in the past, but never with JoAnn. She loved them. Anyway, Amber, the chocolate lab traveler, is now asleep on the rug; very much the vacation dog. We are sitting here, and ready to talk, liking the evening, and prepared for Sunday. Perhaps the Maine Diner for breakfast, featured on the Food Network, and then some shopping. It feels like Maine, again, and it feels right.

Hide in Plain Sight

I spoke with my mom at lunch today, and she is still hiding out from Kathy. Kathy’s dad died, and she should be in my mom’s area on Thursday for the funeral, but if you knew this person you would know why my mom is avoiding her. She is 58 years old, never married, never held down a decent job for long, very poor grooming, etc. etc. She recently took all the money she got from the sale of her house in New Jersey, and purchased a house in North Carolina that she thinks she is going to “flip”.

When we were growing up as kids, her family lived across the street. Since she was 5 years older than me, I never really had much contact with her, but she was a strange bird back then, too. If she starts telling any type of story, it goes on and on past boredom to pure agony.

I know my mom feels badly about being deceptive, but if Kathy gets a hold of her, she’ll literally want to camp out at my mom’s house for through the weekend at least. So, meanwhile, my mom is not taking her calls, she’s keeping the house closed up, and won’t surface until she’s sure Kathy is gone. Then she plans to call her and act like she was out of town with me.

There was a big write up, front page, in fact, in our local newspaper about the concert last night. I’m so glad we got to go and see most of it. I really don’t have any regrets about missing Willie Nelson, and even the article said that John Mellencamp was the highlight of the evening. Bob Dylan, eh…take him or leave him, but I will acknowledge that he’s a musical legend.

Ed has been out and about today, doing lots of the last minute vacation related things that need to be done. He’s stopped the paper and mail for the week, and purchased filters for my aquarium so we can give that a good cleaning before we go. I checked the 10-day weather report for Kennebunkport, ME this morning, and was disappointed to see a lot of overcast, rainy weather predicted. Hopefully, the forecast is all wrong, like it is half the time anyway. Predicting the weather is a crap shoot at best.

I Forgot My Drugs

Product Review: Sonic Lime-Cranberry Ade is delicious!

So, the weekend is finally here. I’m doing my grocery shopping after work in the hope that I can free up my day tomorrow for other things—not sure what, but I’m tired of my Saturday being tied up grocery shopping.

On Sunday, we go down to South Jersey to see my mom. We travel to see her about once every three to four weeks. I wish she would come visit us sometime, but she is afraid to make the trip herself. So, since my dad died, and actually much before that, we make the trip to see her. She usually has a few chores for Ed to do around the house, and then we go out to dinner. I always try to pick up a few things from Wegmans that I think she would like. We also exchange a months worth of magazines.

Next week, we really have to start getting ready to go on vacation. Amber goes to the groomer on Wednesday, so at least we’ll be taking a clean dog with us. Ed usually makes lists, and we manage to pack everything and get going without forgetting anything. That is, EXCEPT for the infamous start to our first vacation to Maine three years ago; the “I forgot my drugs” trip. We were over an hour from home when Ed suddenly remembered that he didn’t pack his prescription medications, and we had to backtrack to pick them up. I was not happy.

Next week at work is going to drag, since I’ll only be thinking about getting out of there on Friday the 18th for a whole week of freedom.

Vacation Countdown

Back to work on Monday, and waiting in my email box was a response from the owner of the Maine rental house we will be traveling to in just 12 days! She apologized for taking so long with my check, but she said she was on vacation and deposited it today. She gave me the final details on the combination of the lockbox at the house and when we have to put out the trash. So it's official! Vay-Cay time in 12 days!

Work was work....it's always much harder to return after an extended break. The only good thing about it is that my boss is out of the country for the entire week. That makes me a happier worker.